Plant breeding and biotechnology :

Murphy, Denis J.,

Plant breeding and biotechnology : societal context and the future of agriculture / Plant Breeding & Biotechnology Denis J. Murphy. - 1 online resource (xxviii, 423 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

TABLE OF CONTENTS -- The science of plant breeding -- Origins of plant breeding -- Creating new genetic variation -- Modern high-tech breeding -- The societal context of plant breeding -- Rise of the public sector and the U.S. pioneers -- Public sector breeding in the U.K. -- Breeding goes global: the green revolution and beyond -- Turmoil and transition: the legacy of the 1980s -- Resurgence of the private sector -- Emergence of a new crop improvement paradigm -- Decline of the public sector -- Reaping the consequences -- The agbiotech paradigm -- Agbiotech: genes and dreams -- The future of transgenic crops I: improving the technology -- The future of transgenic crops II: improving the products -- Increasing global crop production: the new challenges -- Feeding the world: fallacies and realities -- The roles of management, subsidies, and breeding in crop improvement -- Plant breeding in the twenty-first century -- The future of international plant breeding -- Rebalancing our approach to crop improvement -- Where do we go from here? -- Conclusions and recommendations.

This comprehensive 2007 survey of modern plant breeding traces its history from the earliest experiments at the dawn of the scientific revolution in the seventeenth century to the present day and the existence of high tech agribusiness. Murphy tells the story from the perspective of a scientist working in this field, offering a rationale and evidence-based insight into its development. Crop improvement is examined from both a scientific and socio-economic perspective and the ways in which these factors interact and impact on agricultural development are discussed, including debates on genetically-modified food. Murphy highlights concerns over the future of plant breeding, as well as potential options to enable us to meet the challenges of feeding the world in the 21st century. This thoroughly interdisciplinary and balanced account serves as an essential resource for everyone involved with plant breeding research, policy and funding, as well as those wishing to engage with current debates.

9780511619267 (ebook)


Plant breeding.
Plant breeding--History.
Plant biotechnology.
Plant biotechnology--History.

SB123 / .M77 2007

631.52
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